Earthbound and Down
by WittyWallflower
Summary: **AU where Jo doesn't back out of Astraeus mission selection and is selected to go instead of Zane.** Prompt: Zane&Carter Tears.


Morning found Jack Carter sitting inside Cafe Diem drinking endless cups of fresh ground Vinspresso. Even if he wasn't on duty it was far too early in the day for a beer. And getting drunk wouldn't help Allison. Or anyone else.

"Refill, Sheriff?" Vincent asked, approaching with his carafe.

The man's round face was friendly with sympathy, just like the rest of the town. All of Eureka had come together to lend support to one another after the disappearance of the Astraeus and its crew of the brightest minds in Eureka. GD staff was working feverishly all hours of the day attempting to locate the lost ship.

Before Carter could respond to the offer of life-sustaining caffeine his PDA chirped. With a raised finger and apologetic smile to Vincent, Carter fished the phone out of his pocket to answer.

"Carter."

"Howdy, Sheriff! Awful sorry to interrupt your breakfast but I wondered if you might be able to help me out with a bit of a pickle out here at GD."

"What have those geniuses blown up now?"

"Oh, no, no sir." Andy's warm chuckle always made Carter forget his deputy was a robot, just for a moment. "Nothing like that. No, GD has an employee that needs to be removed from his lab."

"That sounds like an internal matter. Let… let GD security handle it, I'm not their bouncer."

Carter swallowed back emotion; his lips wanted to form Jo's name, a habit for so many years. Leading up to the Astraeus mission, he'd never actually stopped to think about what life would be like without his partner if Jo was selected. Even though she was no longer his deputy, he wasn't sure how well he could protect Eureka without her.

"Can do, Sheriff! Only…" Andy's hesitation caught Carter's attention. "Well, the employee in question is Mr Donovan and I thought with Miss Lupo missing… it seemed like something better handled by a friend than an officer of the law. Or GD security."

With a sigh, Carter dropped his head. "Yeah, thank Andy. Be right there." He tapped the screen to disengage the call and rubbed the back of his neck wearily as he turned to Vincent.

"I'll take that one to go. And I wonder if you could throw a few things in a bag for me…"

—-

Zane Donovan sat at his station, tapping his fingers impatiently as he waited for the computer to process the complex calculations he'd spent all morning feeding it. Fanciest supercomputers on the planet and he still felt like he was moving at a snail's pace. The nervous tapping ceased as he lifted his hands to his face, rubbing his bleary eyes and trying to slap a bit more alertness into his cheeks, but his foot bounced restlessly against the rung of his stool.

"Morning, Zane." he heard from behind him.

The voice startled him and he jumped slightly, dropping his hands.

"What!?" He said, irritable and annoyed by the sudden interruption. He spun on his stool to snap at the unwanted visitor but his temper cooled when he saw Carter standing there. As much as Zane wanted to be left to lick his wounds and work in private, he couldn't harangue a man who bore the same burdens Zane himself did. "Oh, hey Carter."

Jack nodded, ignoring the outburst, and glanced at Zane's screen. "How is the search going?"

Zane answered with a surly snort of frustration before swiveling back to the computer.

"Anything i can do to help find them?" Carter asked.

"Like what, set up a road block? Put out an APB? I can't even explain what I am trying to do in words simple enough for you to understand." Zane said, derision dripping from each word.

"Hey, take it easy!" Carter dropped the Cafe Diem bag on the lab bench and propped his hands on his hips as he stared at Zane's back, trying to keep his own temper in check. "We're on the same side here. We both want to find the crew and bring them home. Besides, when has my lack of understanding ever stopped you science freaks from throwing six syllable words at me?"

Zane rubbed his eyes again, too tired to explain, too tired to refuse. "I'm running some calculations but with all of GD doing the same and running simulations trying to figure out where the Astraeus might have ended up the system is completely bogged down. Its gonna take time before i can even take the next step."

"Sounds like you have time for to take a break then. You've been here almost two days without any rest. When was the last time you ate? Come on, I just came from Cafe Diem."

"I've got more important things to do than share coffee and donuts with you, lawman."

Tuning Carter out, Zane decided he might as well review the calculations while the computer was running them. It didn't hurt to check it for errors while he was forced to wait. when he heard a rustle behind him he expected the other man to leave but a moment later a hand reached over his shoulder and placed a Cafe Diem cup in front of him. The fruity aroma that drifted from the domed lid made him salivate.

"Blueberry banana soy wheat grass whey protein smoothie, hold the whipped cream." Jack said, then sat a small container beside it. "And steal-cut oatmeal made with coconut milk, topped with blackberries and kiwi." Zane stared at them, dumbfounded, touched by the thoughtfulness. "Jo happened to mention that you cut out dairy before.. before she left."

Zane said nothing but as Jack stood behind him he watched Zane's back hunch as the man curled into himself. Putting a hand on Zane's shoulder, Jack felt the man's body convulse with silent sobs. With a gentle grip, he turned Zane around to face him.

"Jack…" his face crumpled by despair, Zane couldn't manage any more words. His fears for Jo, for all his friends on the Astraeus crew, for the fate of Eureka without them all choked him so that all he could do was cry.

"I know," Jack said, embracing Zane as the other man curled into his chest, blotting silent tears against the pressed shirt of Carter's tan uniform. As tears filled his own eyes, Jack looked up at the ceiling trying to will them away even as he prayed to anyone who would listen for hope. "I know" he whispered, stroking Zane's back.

Zane sat there with Carter's arms around him until the tears subsided. As he came back to himself, he pulled self-consciously away from the comfort. Swiping the moisture from his cheeks, he wiped his nose on his forearm and gave Carter a watery smile.

"Thanks."

Stepping back to give Zane space to regain his composure, Carter nodded in response. He shoved his hands in his pocket and waited a few moments while Zane bustled about with things on his desk. Brusquely trying to cover an awkward moment between two men who don't know how to handle expressing their emotions. After letting him putter for a few minutes, Carter spoke up.

"Eat those before they swap temperatures. Then I'll drive you home to get some rest."

Before he was finished though Zane was stubbornly shaking his head, already picking up his tablet to get back to work. Carter cut him off before he could protest.

"Zane, you are falling off your chair. You cant do this kind of high science with your brain half asleep."

"No, I just need to get my blood pumping. A few crunches, couple jumping jacks, I'll be good for another half a day if you can keep the Vinspresso flowing."

With the best show of energy he could muster after 40 sleepless hours, Zane hopped off his stool and knelt on the floor. Palms down, he straightened his legs and quickly did a set of push-ups. Lowering himself, he turned over and raised his knees.

"Zane.."

"Carter.." For a moment Zane didn't speak as he drew his body up in crunches, twisting his torso to touch each elbow to the opposite knee. "Look, i really appreciate you coming by today. I needed a friend and I probably never would have sought one for myself." After two sets he lay back. That wouldn't normally have him so winded but he didn't normally work out when he was already exhausted and running on fumes. "I need to be doing something to help find her, find them all."

Jack turned away with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. He couldn't just let Zane destroy himself.

"You're no used to them if you are laid up, Zane. You're going to burn out and then you will be no use to anyone. And we need you, we all need your help if we are going to find them and bring them back. I can't do this without you. Every single scientist in this building is working on finding them. The work wont stop because you took a nap and you said yourself that you cant take the next step until the calculations are done. So," he reached out and turned off the monitors for Zane's computer, "let's take a break. Don't make me lock you in my cell till you pass out."

There was no acerbic response from the floor.

"Zane?"

Turning back, Carter looked down to see Zane still on the floor. His eyes were closed and his breathing slow; his knees had sagged in sleep and his legs were sprawled rather gracelessly over the GD floor. But the expression on Zane's sleeping face was more peaceful than Jack had seen him in weeks.

"Well that solves one problem", Jack said to himself. Examining the sleeping man he realized that Zane was twice his size and solid muscle all the way through. It was going to be hell on his back trying to get Zane off the floor. "Now how do i get him home?"


End file.
